Hark! 'Tis the Shepherd's Voice -- Alexcenah Thomas

She was a teacher and must have felt she had some students that were like wandering sheep. Could it be that this 28-year old educator may have coaxed friends and other acquaintances to help redirect her students with the words “Hark! ‘Tis the Shepherd’s Voice I Hear”? Alexcenah Thomas  evidently taught or administered the education of youngsters in many places by the beginning of the 20^th Century, but seemed aware many years before then that waywardness was something she wanted to address. Not much else is known of Alexcenah, though she left some hymn poems, of which “Hark…” (also known as “Bring Them In”) is the most well-known. She also collaborated with a musical composer, William Ogden, who was a noted producer of children’s music. That common theme of children between Ogden and Thomas must have played a pivotal role in their partnership on ‘Hark…’.

Alexcenah Thomas was in various places over the last few decades of the 19^th Century when she pursued her career in children’s education, paired with writing a few dozen hymn poems. Though it is unknown where the paths of Alexcenah Thomas and William Ogden intersected, most likely it was their mutual Christian outlook and interest in musical endeavors that compelled their meeting. Alexcenah evidently was from Philadelphia and was educated in Chicago, followed by various stints as a teacher or principal in central Pennsylvania, Washington, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Georgia, and New York. Meanwhile, Ogden was reportedly in Ohio and various other places to pursue his passion to educate children musically. It was the year 1885 when the two cooperated to produce “Hark…”. Alexcenah’s poetry doesn’t explicitly mention children, but adults in God’s world would be children too, so her address to an audience to search for sheep and assist the ‘Shepherd’ could have been intended for either kids or grownups. We might presume that since Ogden worked with Thomas to write the music for the song, that he felt it was useful for the younger generation. Had they both experienced errant children in their professional endeavors, and thereby found a mutually resonant issue they wanted to emphasize? It would be hard to imagine individuals so deeply engaged in the lives of children who had not had some heartaches. Personal anguish is frequently a motivator for music and poetry, as the creators seek out some therapeutic salve to ease pain. Just consider William’s and Alexcenah’s ancestor, the great Psalmist David. He wrote to express his inner struggle. Did it help?

David’s words, and Alexcenah’s words many centuries later say something that doesn’t wear out or grow old. We contact each other, an unavoidable fact of being born. And, along the way I choose to walk, I either move toward or away from others. It can happen quickly. Or, more often, I can drift, bit by bit. Perhaps that was what Alexcenah saw – people she could sense were drifting away, unable to bring themselves to reverse course. Do those people want to be drifters? Or, do they just want a hand to reach out? What’s the Shepherd telling you?

The following website has a soundtrack for the song: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/b/r/i/bringthe.htm

See more information on the song discussed above in Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990.

See biography of hymn poetess here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/t/h/o/m/thomas_a.htm

See biography of her musical collaborator-composer here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/o/g/d/ogden_wa.htm